Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1876 — Particulars of the Great Dynamite Explosion. [ARTICLE]

Particulars of the Great Dynamite Explosion.

The following particulars respecting the dynamite explosion at Bremerhaven are from tlie Weiser Zedong: It oppears that just before the Mosel was about to sail a cart containing four eases ajul ii. barrel was being unloaded for shipment. Suddenly a terrible explosion occurred. The effect was horrible. The quay was then thronged with people—partly belonging to tlie steamer, partly spectators, and partly passengers who had remained there to take a last'farcwell of their friends. An eye-witness who stood under the gangway of the Mosel, on hearing the terrific report, saw a number of black lumps flying about in tlie air, whilst very few of tlie persons on land remained visible. Apprehending a boiler-explosion he threw himself flat on deck, when he received a volley of sand, broken glass, fragments of flesh, bones, etc. Tlie devastation on board the Mosel was terrific. No skylight was left; tlie cabins aft, starboard and port were either crushed in or bulged out by tlie pressure or altogether smashed; tlie side plates of the ship were burst; tlie ports with their glasses and rivets forced inward, and the whole ship was besmeared witli Mood and stuck over with pieces of flesh and other human debris. In the hold and all parts of the ship were found anus, legs and other portions of the human frame; thus the lower hold received some limbs through the open hatchways. Tlie sides of tlie hatchways were burst’by the pressure, and tlie front of the navigation cabin on deck stove in. The whole ship was littered with glass shreds, which even tilled thedishes from the steam kitchen as they were being served to tlie ’tween deck or steerage passengers. The tug got off comparatively unhurt, being so much more below the quay line than the Mosel; still, the whole of its deck was destroyed. Thecrewcaine off with a mere fright,' only tlie engineers and stokers having been hurt slightly. On land, where the packages had been unloaded, a hole had been produced six or seven feet deep. The whole place was strewn with limbs, shreds of dress, etc. In large reeking pools of blood you might see here an arm, there a calf, intestines, mutilated busts, etc. Amongst the most horrible details of this calamity is the fate of the Etmer family, who were seeing off one of their sous to California. The father, mother, son and son-in-law are dead, all four; the daughter-in-law has had her arm, and her child its hand, blown off. Tlie case which exploded had been in tlie care of tlie carrier Westermanu, of Bremprhaveuv and was accompanied on its way to the steamer by a Mr. Tumforde, of whom it is said all trace has been lost. Tlie cart lias been shattered into thousands of splinters, and the poor horse has had his four feet blown off near the hoofs. Tlie authorship of the terrible catastrophe is now traced to W. K. Thomas, a passenger of the Mosel. Thomas has acknowledged that he was the owner of the barrel which exploded, and tliat he intended to take this barrel on board the vessel for the purpose of sinking her. The motive of this diabolical wickedness appears to have been the hope 'f gaining a large sum by means of exaggerated and fictitious insurances, and the sum thus obtained was to have been shared with others. He is perfectly conscious and answers all questions put to him. He is in the same room witli many of his victims. According to information at present in possession of the police, Thomas had prepared only one barrel for the carrying out of his horrid work, although a report had spread in Bremerhaven that a number of machines had been put on board the Mosel. Tins barrel was made for Thomas by the master cooper Delvendhal. It was made of strong material, and was divided by means of a partition in the middle, through whicli there was a hole. Ijj one division it is assumed that he had placed the igniting apparatus, and the other was filled with dymrmite. He accompanied the barrel when it was taken to the depot of the North German Lloyd Company, and told the porters it should be handled with care. It is supposed that his plan was to effect the ignition by means of a clock-work apparatus, which in all probability was to be set in motion when he arrived at Southampton, to which place only he had booked. It appears that he intended to sail with the ill-fated Deutschland, but the aparatus for effecting the ignition was not completed in time. The number of the victim is constantly being increased. According to authentic information the list of dead and wounded amounts to 180'persons.

The scene at the hospital dead-house was of the most harrowing character. The mutilated remains tilled a large basket which four strong men could hardly carry. There were also a number of heads, which from time to time were inspected by people looking for friends or relatives. About thirtywounded,persons were in the hospital; many others were in private houses. Nearly every family in the* little town has suffered severely. —There is said to be living in the neighborhtfod of Wilkesbacre, Pa., an American family blessed /with three children speaking some kind-of gibberish peculiarly their own, and which, although well understood by the little ones, the parents even cannot understand. All attempts to compel their offspring to converse in plain English having failed, the parents, as a last resort, have been compelled to separate the children in order to break up what might otherwise become an incurable